Ministry of SMEs and Startups recruits for follow-up program

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will begin recruiting Aug. 6 for a follow-up program to help high-performing startups convert open-innovation collaborations into commercial results.

Applications will be accepted through Aug. 26 from startups that participated in one of the ministry's open-innovation initiatives and either achieved an excellent or top-grade final assessment, or hold a collaboration letter of intent from a demand company.

The ministry will select about 80 startups, giving each up to 2억원 in commercialization funding after document and presentation evaluations. The performance-based track uses meet-ups to match startups with demand companies. The follow-on track funds market verification for startups pursuing continued collaboration after existing programs end.

The ministry established the program this year after calls for support to carry successful collaborations into commercialization and investment. "To make sure open innovation outcomes do not remain at technology verification but lead to actual market verification and commercialization outcomes such as purchases and investment, support for follow-up stages is important," said Cho Kyung-won, the ministry's director general for startup policy.

Further support will connect recipients to demand-company tests for market validation and to investment or procurement contracts.